Dream
by Yumetsu
Summary: It was both of their dreams to meet again. Their dream soon comes true but a nightmare is about to happen... Rated T because I do not know is it actually K . This is not a crossover story, just borrowed some names... Hope you enjoy, please review
1. Chapter 1

"Please, help me take care of her." Haku said to the man who was kneeling in the dark

"Lord Haku, you have no need to talk to me in such politeness" The man replied

"I have to, this is not an order, it is a request, you are allowed to refused" Haku closed his eyes, bracing himself for the worse

"No, being able to help Lord Kohaku is my pleasure" The man said with sincerity

"I give my thanks. Please keep her safe" Haku said with pleading eyes that were full of concern

"It will be my pleasure" The man said "However Lord Kohaku, I do not understand why"

"It is a long story which I would rather not say. I will tell you when the time comes" Haku opened his eyes again

"Yes, Lord Haku. I shall take my leave now" With that, the man stood and vanished.

Haku laid back in his chair, with a face writing worry, and said "Stay safe, Chihiro"

* * *

It has been 7 years. Chihiro, now 17, was going to school with her usual companions: Nanami and Misaki. Chihiro moved on pretty well, however she was unable to fall for another male. All because of the man she would think of from time to time; the man she sometimes would dream of; the man she loved from the bottom of her heart; the man who she hopes to but knows she that will never meet again: Haku

"Hey I heard that there will be a transfer student transferring into our class. Rumors says he's hot" Misaki said. "Not like I believe though"

"Exactly, spreading rumors like that. I really doubt he is going to be hot" Nanami said "Though, I have the feeling the girls will be squealing"

"Says the girls with the most handsome boyfriends" Chihiro sighed.

"It's not like that! Ok, maybe a little, but still!" Misaki tried to deny

"Misaki's right! It's not like we're saying this because we got used to seeing handsome people! It's just that they aren't!" Nanami joined in. Chihiro smirked and pretend to ignore them.

That's when she knocked into someone. She fell, the books she held scattered all around. Her bottom ached. She staggered to her feet.

"Watch where you're going" the person who she knocked into said irritatingly, picking up his books that had also fallen when she knocked into him. She knew it was her fault, she wasn't looking where she was going. And so, she could only apologise. However, when she looked up to apologise, she was stunned. She had knocked into a man, with brown hair, a face that would have surely made the girls in her class scream. But what stunned her wasn't his looks, but his eyes.

It's the same

The eyes she had wanted to see for so long. A part of her wanted to embrace him to check if it was the same person. At the same time, her brain was at work, telling her that it was impossible. He couldn't be here. There was no way.

He did promise to meet me again though

Her mind screamed at her:"No, he isn't Haku, Haku is much more gentle, much more…" She got lost in thoughts. Haku, who she had buried in her memory, hoping to meet him again, although knowing it was all a lie, resurfaced in her memories. Everything else turned blank. She barely noticed when the male walked away.

"Chihiro! Are you okay?" Nanami's voice pulled her back to real life "Why are you crying？"

Chihiro looked up, Misaki had helped her pick up all her scattered books, both of them were looking worriedly at her. Chihiro touched her face and found it to be wet. She wiped away her tears and smiled.

"Nothing, just remembered my childhood crush" Chihiro said, she didn't want to lie to them, but she also did not want to tell them. She wanted it to be a secret, so that she wouldn't have to face the risk of remembering it. She wasn't sure if she could handle it. Therefore, she just generally described it to them once. "We are going to be late for class, we should hurry" And so, with worried feelings, Nanami and Misaki let the subject drop.


	2. Chapter 2

"Class we will be having a transfer student. His name is Nushi Nano" Chihiro's teacher said "If you would introduce yourself"

"My name is Nushi Nano, I am named after the Shinano river. Nice to meet you all" The man earlier Chihiro bumped into earlier said. Nano noticed the girl who had knocked into earlier staring at him. Humans he thought. He could see the girls trying their best not to scream, was his appearance that good looking? Though, he couldn't understand why did that girl who was willing to apologize to him face suddenly darken when she looked into his eyes. Back then, he ignored her and walked away. Now, he knew something was off, she looked at him with sad eyes. What was it?

It doesn't concern me was the answer his brain gave him. It's not like she's an evil spirit, no, he could sense she was human. Now then, how to find the human girl lord Haku has wanted him to find…

"If you don't mind, would you kindly sit in that back seat over there?" Said his new teacher, pointing at the empty seat in the corner, next to the window. Perfect he thought, wanting to give a cool impression so that the girls won't bother him so easily, he nodded slightly, without a second word walked towards that seat the teacher assigned, without even a slightest idea that most girls are easily attracted to hot boys with a cool personality... He was sitting at the last row, no girls could bother him, and he can have a good view of everyone in the classroom, should be easier to look after the girl his lord had wanted him to take care of, whoever that is... Anyway, also he can look outside, incase any evil spirits appeared. Appearingly, some evil spirits may after Chihiro Ogino, and his lord seems to have take interest in this girl. Well, he wanted him to take care of her, as a personal favour, it shouldn't be about peace and all if it's a personal favour. Just what in blazes…

"Now that's all sette, let us begin our class. Please take out your textbooks and turn to page 82" His teacher said. To not look suspicious, he quickly took out his textbook and turned to that page. He paid attention in class, or tried to look as if he was paying attention anyway. He secretly glanced around the class looking for a girl who might be the girl he was looking for. He hoped that if he got caught, the teacher would let him off with the reason he was only nervous being in a new environment.

He saw many girls stealing glances at him, he had so much of that back at the bathhouse that he decided not to bother any more. Most of them were, only two didn't. One with waist-length hair and one with shoulder-length hair. Those two looked completely uninterested in him. Even the one with a pony-tail, that he had knocked into just now was also looking at him once in awhile. Although, something told him it wasn't just looking at him, it was as if she was trying to make sure of something.

"Girls, will you stop looking at Nushi-kun" The teacher finally realised everyone was looking at Nano. Some girls complained, the pony-tailed girl looked confused while the two who didn't look at him rolled their eyes. Nano's sixth sense told him that one of those two is Chihiro Ogino, he'll just have to ask during recess. With that, the mission will become much easier. The pony-tail, the waist-length and the shoulder-length girls were talking to each other, with the pony-tail having a depressed look, the other two looking unbelievable. Something happened perhaps? All he had to do is wait till recess, and things will be so much easier. He was pretty sure this was Chihiro's class, well, his sixth sense was usually correct..

Recess came, and when he just wanted to stand up and ask them who was Chihiro…

"Nushi-san! Would you like to have recess with me?"

"No, Nushi-sama is mine!"

"Don't be stupid! He's mine!"

Girls, he thought, when will he be able to figure out who is the girl he is supposed to protect?


	3. Chapter 3

Back home, Chihiro took out the purple hairband Grandma had given her.

Haku, where are you?

For 7 years, Chihiro had been able to live on. But now, after seeing that pair of eyes, she desperately wanted to see Haku again. Haku had promised to see her again, but Chihiro didn't think that would be coming true. No matter how much she wants to

"Haku you liar" Chihiro whispered to herself, clenching the rubber band tight in her fist.

* * *

How was Shinano doing? Had he find Chihiro? Chihiro, god, back then he followed his instincts and helped Chihiro, he fell in love with her. And Haku, now being the Master of all spirits, had no time and rights to go see her at all. Yes, despite his position, he was single.

Haku once tried forgetting about Chihiro and hang out with some suggestions, but it didn't work. Those women liked his position, not him. Ignore that and just try to accept their love? Nope, not working. In the end, he still loved Chihiro. Haku had no idea why did he still care so much about Chihiro after seven years, nor did he know why did he believe Chihiro was still waiting for him, but he knew he did.

News of the barrier blocking the entrance to the World of Living weakening was nothing urgent, it happened time to time. However, this time, it was different. Evil spirits who weren't, or at least not any more, under Haku control are finding a way to break through the weaken barrier to find a human body to posses to gain a new type of power. Haku did some research on that.

Apparently if a spirit posses a living human's body, the spirit will gain humongous power and be invincible. However, to make it work, the living human must have a high spiritual body. Symptoms of having a high spiritual body: able to see, talk and touch spirits

 _Chihiro_

That name came into Haku's mind once he learnt about it. He became worried, as Master, all he could do was strengthen the barrier. He couldn't leave the place, both because of his duties and to set a good example. So, he sent his apprentice, Shinano, to the World of the Living to protect Chihiro in his place if anything happens.

 _Forgive me Chihiro_

The alarm rang. The barrier has been broken.

* * *

Shinano (Nushi Nano) sensed evil spirits. He was walking around in his spirit form (which means no one can see him) to avoid the girls. Lord Kohaku had taught him how to change from spirit form to human form at will. Shinano never saw its uses, but man was he thankful he knew how to do that now. Anyway, he sensed the evil spirits, and flew after the presence.

* * *

Chihiro felt insecure, something was wrong. She had came to this quiet park, where nobody ever comes by, to cool down her mind after seeing Haku's eyes. She looked around, no one was there. She let it pass with her being unnerved by seeing Haku's eyes. She sat down on the grass and watched as the river flow slowly. She thought about how she was saved by Haku when she was a little kid.

Haku, I miss you

Then she heard whooshing sound, leaves rattling. It must be the wind, Chihiro thought. She stared at her reflection in the river, and screamed.

She wasn't alone.

A scream pierced through the air. What the hell? Shinano thought. He was sure he was heading towards the direction of the evil spirits. How can someone scream? No one should be able to see the spirits. They were in the World of the Living. Maybe it was because of some other cases? The woman back at the spiritual world scream just by seeing a mouse, or when the wind blew up their dresses. Surely it must be because of that.

Shinano couldn't shake the uneasiness.


	4. Chapter 4

Chihiro turned to look behind her, a dark spirit that look like No Face, but much more evil looking, was standing behind her. Impossible, Chihiro thought in her mind, I'm still in the real world. The dark spirit took a step closer, Chihiro took that as a step anyway, and Chihiro backed away.

"You can see me?" The spirit asked. Chihiro was too afraid to reply. Somehow, she nodded. That, was the biggest mistake of her life.

"Well then, seems like you pass the high spiritual body" The dark spirit smirked "Just to be sure.." The dark spirit rose his hands and touched Chihiro's face. Chihiro was now frozen by fear.

"Indeed you pass" The dark spirit started growing into the monster No Face once was "Now, I am going to devour you and posses your body! And the invincible power will be mine!"

The spirit grabbed Chihiro, and Chihiro unfroze. She started struggling, screaming for help but to no avail, she had no idea what the spirit was talking about, but she knew it wasn't anything good. The spirit opened his mouth, Chihiro had tears in her eyes.

"Save me, Haku!" Chihiro finally screamed out what she really thought of. She knew it was impossible, but at that time, it was her only wish. She closed her eyes and thought of Haku, Haku's smiling face, how graceful Haku could fly, and the warmth of Haku's hand. Her mind was filled with Haku. She didn't expect to see Haku appear and save her, she just felt sad that in the end she didn't manage to see Haku again.

 _Haku.. I wanted to see you for one last time_

* * *

The screams continued, what the hell was happening. The people around him didn't seem to notice, but Shinano didn't really care. Shinano's priority was to find the evil spirit. He knocked into something and got reflected back by it and hit the ground. There was a barrier around that area, a barrier that could have only be set by spirits. Shinano was having a really bad feeling. That's why no one didn't seem to notice, they didn't, a barrier was set around that area to prevent anyone from going there. But if that was the case, why was the screaming coming from in there?

He remembered what lord Kohaku had once told him about possessing a living human body.

No way Shinano thought, and realised the urgent need of breaking down the barrier and getting in there. The high spiritual body. He gathered his spiritual energy at his fist and punched the barrier, the barrier gave away. Shinano flew in and resealed it. He didn't want any more humans getting near that place.

"Save me, Haku!" Shinano was shocked to hear his lord's past name and increased his speed. And then he saw it, the evil spirit and the girl from his class. The girl who had knocked into him, the girl who had look at him with sad eyes, the girl who he had believed not to be Chihiro Ogino. The evil spirit was just about to swallow up the girl, Shinano realised his intentions. He was going to posses the girl.

Shinano took no chances. He wasn't interested in testing the invincible power, or bet whether that girl had a high spiritual body. He attacked, sending a force of energy from his fist to the evil spirit, knocking it away, and setting the girl free. Shinano created an energy barrier under her, to soften her fall and set her down on the grass. She wasn't hurt, but terrified.

"Ha...ku?" The girl said with a voice of uncertainty, hearing his lord's name from that past coming out of a girl like her made him uncomfortable. How did she know his lord name anyway

"No, I am not Lord Kohaku" He didn't expect her to hear him, but he said it anyway.

"Nushi-san?! You're a spirit?" The girl looked up and said. Wait, what?! This girl can not only hear him but see him?! More importantly, she knows about spirits?!

"You.. can see me?" Nushi asked, just to make sure. The girl nodded, and Shinano knew what was going on. The girl had a high spiritual body, and the evil spirit had wanted to posses her to gain invincible power.

"You're Kohaku's little apprentice aren't you? Well isn't it a pleasure seeing you" The evil spirit had returned. In a blink of an eye, Shinano stood in front of the girl protectively, and glared up on the evil spirit. Whether this girl was Chihiro Ogino or not, he couldn't let the evil spirit take her, and, although it wasn't on his lord's commands, but now he had to take care of her, he cannot allow the spirit to posses her.

"Sorry I can't return the pleasure" Shinano gathered energy into his clenched fists, ready to attack at moments notice. The spirit did not contain high spiritual energy, but he wasn't one to underestimate opponents. The evil spirit laughed

"I will be back, Shinano, and the next time we meet, it won't be so easy" With that, the evil spirit flew away, the barrier around them breaking. As much as Shinano wanted to chase after him, and ask the evil spirit how he knows his name, now, he had something more important to do. He released his fist and turned towards the girl.

"You alright?" Shinano held out his hand towards the girl, the girl accept it and pulled herself up. Then, the girl stared at his eyes and asked.

"Do you know Haku?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chihiro asked the question in desperation. Nushi (Nano / Shinano) looked at her in confusion, and she had her answer. He didn't. She felt hope draining from her. When she was freed from the grasp if the evil spirit, she really believed that Haku had heard her calls and come. They say the bigger the hope, the bigger the disappointment. The moment Chihiro looked up and saw that her saviour was not Haku, she couldn't take it anymore. She forced herself to keep it together and tried to ask Nushi if he knew where her Haku was, unfortunately, he did not know who was Haku.

For the first time in seven years, Chihiro broke down. She didn't care that she was in front of a complete stranger (to her anyway), she didn't care that she was just attacked and should at least ask why, she didn't care that she should have moved on. She cried, back in the past seven years, whenever she felt down and desperate, she thought of Haku and overcome all those hurdles. But now, who was she supposed to think of?

"I… Is the Haku you're talking about by any chance be Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi?" Nushi asked. Chihiro looked up, that was it. A ray of hope had shone upon her heart of despair. Nushi was staring at her. She looked into his eyes to find the courage to talk.

"Yes, he has the same eyes as yours" Chihiro was trying her best to hold herself together, the news of Haku meant a lot.

"Yes, he is my master" Nushi said. Chihiro felt a gush of relief, Haku was alright. Haku wasn't a dream. Haku was real. Haku…. had not fulfil his promise. He had a apprentice, but he didn't come to find her. He promised… Chihiro felt a mix of feeling inside her. She was glad to know Haku was real and alright, but she was also disappointed that Haku did not come to find her even though he was perfectly fine.

"I'll take that as he is okay" Chihiro took Nushi's silence as a sign of approval. Chihiro took a deep breath and made her decision. "Thank you for letting me know this" Chihiro smiled. She chose to believe in Haku, believe that Haku had his reasons for not coming. And she will wait. She will wait until the day when Haku fulfil his promise. Now knowing that Haku was real and very much alive, she expected him to come one day. She once thought that they will never meet again, but now, she knew they would. It was just a matter of time.

I'm still waiting for you, Haku

"I shall take my leave now then" With a smile on her face and a resolve in her heart, she turned away from Nushi, from the pair of eyes that remind her of the only man she had ever loved. Nushi caught her hand, preventing her from leaving, she turned back with a puzzled look on her face. Nushi had that poker face of his which Chihiro could not read.

"Are you Chihiro Ogino?" Nushi asked. Hearing her full name coming from his mouth although she had never told him her name, Chihiro was puzzled.

"How do you know my name?" Chihiro asked, admitting her name in the same time. Then a thought came to her mind, Nushi was Haku's apprentice, could it be Haku who had…?

"I was sent you by Lord Kohaku to look after you" Nushi said, letting go of her hand "And now I see why" It really was! Haku remembered after all! Chihiro didn't care why Haku sent Nushi to look after her. She didn't care at all. All she cared was that Haku remembered her.

"Haku…" Joy overtook all the despair. Whatever doubts that linger were washed away. Haku remembered her, Haku must have his reasons that he couldn't come and find her. That must be it. Haku, Haku, Haku, Chihiro repeated his name inside her heart over again and again, a warm feeling was flowing through her body. All those times when life tried to break her down but she steadily stood, all those times of crying alone in the dark, all those times she stopped herself from suiciding, just to live on to meet a man she thought she would never meet again was now worth it. One day, she will meet Haku again.

Thank you Haku

* * *

Shinano watched silently as Chihiro smiled to herself. Something told him the relationship between Chihiro and Lord Kohaku wasn't as simple as it should. Shinano resisted the urge to tell her what was going on and the danger she was in. Seeing her smile so happily, Shinano didn't feel like spoiling her mood. I guess it's alright to hide it from her for now, Shinano thought, It's not part of my mission to tell her.

Mission

Shinano decided to clear his mind. Lord Kohaku had told him about the dangers they were facing. About how some evil spirits are planning to break through the barrier to posses a high spiritual body to gain humongous power and become invincible. Lord Kohaku then sent him to protect a human girl named Chihiro Ogino, as a personal favour. Since it was a personal favour, Shinano didn't think Chihirohad any relationship with the danger they are facing. Now, he saw what was going on. Lord Kohaku had guessed Chihiro had a high spiritual body and sent him to protect her. Not being sure if Chihiro did have high spiritual body, Haku said it as a personal favour. That must be it. Shinano convinced himself that way. Was the idea correct? Shinano had no idea.

"I'll be heading home now" Chihiro said with a smile on her face. Then he realized the problem, Chihiro Ogino knew Lord Haku's name. Chihiro was walking away, so Shinano decided to drop the question from his head.

"I'll walk you home." Shinano said "It's part of my duty"

"You really don't have to" Chihiro Ogino tried rejecting "The girls in school will kill me"

"They can't see me, I'm invisible to humans" Shinano explained "I'm in spirit form. They can't see, hear, nor touch me. You have a high spiritual body, so you are an exception"

"What…?" By the look on Chihiro face, Shinano knew she didn't understand. Shinano saw the sun setting down, spirits are always more active at night, that includes the evil spirit.

"Tell you next time. For now we go home. It isn't safe outside anymore, a girl like you shouldn't be out anymore." Shinano said with his poker face, rejecting any objections.

"If you say so then…" Chihiro Ogino got the message and began walking home. Shinano followed silently behind.


	6. Chapter 6

"Lord Kohaku, you must not!" Haku rolled his eyes and stopped in his tracks. He wanted to go to the World of The Living and find Chihiro. The evil spirit (hopefully singular) have broken through the barrier, Chihiro was in grave danger. Haku knew Chihiro had a high spiritual body (considering Chihiro had been in the spirit world before) and knew that the evil spirit would eventually find out. Unknown to others, he was worried because Chihiro was targeted, not because the evil spirits would become invincible.

"This is part of my duty, no?" Haku asked, holding back his urge to kill them all. Stopping him from reaching Chihiro lighted up his fury.

"It should be, but you have sent Shinano to the World of The Living, there is no need for you to go there," His adviser told him. That's right… He had sent Shinano there, Shinano was no weakling, but knowing that didn't stop Haku from worrying.

Chihiro

This wasn't the first time Haku had to resist the urge of going through the barrier and look for Chihiro. Ever since he dealt with Yubaba and became the new master of the bathhouse, he got limited time. Next, he got chosen to become the Master of that area, and also the guardian of the barrier. Which means, he now has so many duties he cannot afford to visit Chihiro and to set a good example for not crossing the barrier. He hated his job.

Shinano, I'm counting on you

* * *

"Nano Nushi-kun" Some random girl called out to Shinano. He turned, and saw a random girl that he didn't recall meeting before. "My friend told me to give this to you" The girl handed him a pink envelope.

"O...kay…"Shinano took the letter reluctantly. Who would write him a letter? He barely came here for a day. The girl left and Shinano opened the envelope and read the letter inside.

Dear Nano

I had fallen for you on first sight. Your cool attitude makes one want to become close to you. Hopefully one day I would be the one to melt down your heart

Shinano didn't even want to finish reading the letter. Seriously, on his second day of school he was already receiving love letters? Nope, not interested. Now then, to look for Chihiro Ogino. He tried searching for the evil spirit but failed to even detect its presence. Which means Chihiro Ogino is still in danger. He entered class, seeing that Chihiro Ogino was already in there talking to the two girls whom he thought to be Chihiro Ogino. Their names were Ayuzawa Misaki and Nanami Momonozo.

Sitting with them were two very good looking boys. Misaki was trying to push the blond away while Nanami was just leaning on the silver haired male laughing. Chihiro Ogino just smiled. The two male were Usui Takumi and Tomoe Mikage. Those two glanced at him cautiously and then those two had a silent conversation between themselves and then ignored Shinano. What, they thought he would take their girlfriends? Seriously?

Back as his seat, his drawers was full of pink envelopes. Just to make sure none of them were important, he opened everyone of them and read only the first lines. Yup, all love letters.

* * *

Chihiro barely noticed Nushi entered the classroom. It was only when she heard girls squealing did she realise that Nushi had arrived. Chihiro thought about what happened yesterday and smiled. Haku remembered her. Every single time she thought about that, she would just smile. No matter what occasion that was.

"Don't touch me, you perverted out of space alien!" Misaki shouted at Usui, pushing away his hands that were holding Misaki. Nanami laughed, leaning on Tomoe's chest, Tomoe embracing her from behind.

"But you know you like it," Usui just said with that 'innocent' face of his

"But it's in public," Misaki snapped back

"What do you two do in private?" Chihiro asked

"Chihiro!" Misaki said, blushing

"Whoops, sorry. I didn't say anything," Chihiro laughed. Misaki wanted to keep her distance with Usui in public, but when they were alone or with very close friends, Misaki never had a moment when Usui wasn't touching her or vice versa. Nanami and Tomoe were almost the same, only that they didn't care what other thinks about them. Kind of what you call couple goals. Chihiro? Well, she was single.

She will be until the day when Haku meets her come. That was the oath she swore to herself last night. Haku…

"Class there shall be a class trip next month" Their class teacher said when she entered the classroom. "You are to choose your own place" Discussion erupted from the crowd.

"Where do you guys want to go?" Chihiro asked Misaki, Nanami, Usui and Tomoe. Chihiro wasn't exactly close with Usui and Tomoe, but they were her best friends' boyfriends, it is only normal to ask them too.

"I don't know, Tokyo?" Misaki said

"Sounds good" Usui said "we missed the Shinano river last time"

"That was your fault!" Misaki snapped at Usui

"What do you think Nanami?" Tomoe asked Nanami

"As long as you are there" Nanami said smiling at Tomoe. So the destination was set for Tokyo. Well, no one actually asked for Chihiro's opinion but for Chihiro as long her friends were there she didn't really mind where to go. Besides, Chihiro had no problem with Tokyo. The girls totally missed the silent conversation between the two men…


	7. Chapter 7

"Lord Kohaku you must not!" Haku's advisor plead

"I have made my decision, none of you can change my mind," Haku said with a voice that refused any objection. Haku turned away and walked towards the portal. Suddenly, there was something restricting his action. Things around him seemed blur, Haku knew what happened. His advisor had set a barrier around him, the very same spell Haku had set on the frog 7 years ago. Ah, memories it brings. However, they are going to need more than such a weak barrier to stop the Master of that area.

Haku focused on his power and released it. The barrier, unable to contain his power, pop like a bubble. Haku turned around, daring anyone to come attack. His advisor knelt down and said :"I am terribly sorry for attacking my lord, and I shall accept any type of punishment. But please my lord, do not leave. Shinano is strong enough to fend off the escapees." Of course, Haku knew that well, the evil spirits were nothing more than an excuse.

"I have made myself clear, no one can change my mind" Haku was unable to sleep for days and nights, nightmares haunt him at night while worry tortured him at day. He couldn't control himself anymore. He needed to see Chihiro.

"My lord, if it takes attacking you to stop you, that's what I will do. I shall accept any type of punishment for the greater good." His advisor stood up and attacked Haku with a force of power. The floor cracked when the power passed by, but Haku merely swiped it away. The power destroyed the building it hit. It was a powerful blast, but not enough to defeat Haku. Haku did not get this position by his looks, it was his power that got him this god damned, annoying post.

"Try me" Haku's temper was rising, Chihiro could be in danger right now and this person was stopping him from getting to her. Sparks flew around Haku, the air smelled danger. The floor beneath him cracked. Waves of raw power sent the trees around them flying. Haku raised his fist, concentrated his power into them, and flew forwards. His advisor raised his arms and created a defensive barrier to shield himself, but Haku's power was too strong. He broke through the barrier like it was a sheet of glass and launched his fist. His advisor closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain and possibly death. He felt nothing but a gush of strong wind.

Haku's advisor opened his eyes, only to see Haku's fist stopping right in front of him. The floor behind him looked like they were ocean waves. Haku had stopped his attack just in time, as angry as Haku was, he wasn't going to harm innocent spirits.

"You aren't going to change my mind and you are no match for me," Haku said turning away, he walked towards the barrier. "You will not be charged for attacking me. You may go" Haku passed through the barrier.

His advisor fell to his knees.

* * *

On the other hand, Shinano was having a lot of problems, with girls. A full drawer of love letters were the least of his problems. Having a girl falling in front of him at least ten times a day, just so that Shinano could help her get up. Pretending to have dropped their pens right beside him and picking it up from the other side, just so that they can lean over Shinano's lap. Seriously, how badly do they want body contact? This had continue for the whole week.

It was a very troublesome day, just to make things worse, there was a transfer student. The transfer student was told to sit beside Shinano as neighbours. And this transfer student just happened to be someone he knew very well.

"Lord Kohaku, just what are you doing here?" Shinano whispered to his lord. As if his worries for a day wasn't enough, now his lord had just came to his class, sitting right beside him.

"Barrier broken" Lord Haku replied, little did Shinano knew about all the trouble his lord had went through. Shinano had absolutely no idea how big of a fight his master had gotten into with his advisor just to come. Why? Shinano has no idea, but his lord knew very well. If Shinano had paid any attention to where his lord was staring during class, he could have gotten a hint or two, but well, he didn't. He also didn't see all the gentle smiles his lord never made back in the Spirit World...


	8. Chapter 8

After so many years, Haku finally met the girl he had always been thinking of. She had changed a lot since the last time they met. She was much taller, and had definitely matured. He couldn't wait for recess to come. Excited wasn't enough to describe his feelings. Even if he was a Master of an area, that doesn't stop him from missing a person. Yesterday was the day Haku snapped, miraculously, none was injured. Now, his mind was totally on Chihiro, he could tell he wasn't the only one being excited. Judging by all the times Chihiro turned around with excitement gleaming in her eyes, it was safe for Haku to conclude that Chihiro was just as excited as he was.

After what felt like an eternity for both of them, the recess bell finally rang. The second their teacher left the room, Chihiro came running towards Haku. Haku didn't missed his apprentice's surprised face but he chose not to say anything.

Whatever the case, seeing Chihiro smiling so happily took whatever that was in his mind away. Really, who can concentrate on boring work when the girl you have longed to meet is right in front of you?

* * *

"It's you, isn't it" Being a little hesitant and unable to believe the fact that Haku is really back, Chihiro asked cautiously, but you could hear the excitement in her voice. Haku had changed a lot, grew taller, more handsome and somehow the school uniform suited him well, it gave him a gentle and kind look. Haku opened his arms and said:"Yes, its me. I'm here to fulfill my promise."

Chihiro could hold back no more, she lept into Haku's open arms and locked her own arms around him. Haku embraced Chihiro tightly, somehow Haku's presence unlocked all the emotions Chihiro had once locked away. Being able to see the man she had loved and desperately wanted to meet again after 7 years was such a wonderful thing to happen. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake attack that occurred yesterday long forgotten. Now, she just wanted to stay close to Haku.

"You're terribly late" Chihiro said, tears of joy flowing out.

"I know" Haku replied, stroking Chihiro's back "I know" Words just aren't enough to describe the joy they feel. Haku was first in pulling away. As Haku gently wipe Chihiro's tears away and placing a wild strand of hair behind her ear, Chihiro never took her eyes off the man in her dreams. Evil spirits may be after her, but really, who can think of those type of things when the man you have longed to meet is right in front of you?


	9. Chapter 9

An unknown unhappiness.

An unknown fire was burning in Shinano's heart when he saw Lord Kohaku and Chihiro Ogino embracing each other. He has never seen his lord smiling so happily, so gently, so... lovingly. It must be because of his lord was hugging the high spiritual body, a girl whom he just met. (Shinano doesn't know about their story) How could his lord be so... flirty?! Even though it was disrespectful, Shinano could not find any other suitable word. Even if there was some reason behind his action, that includes Chihiro Ogino having a high spiritual body and she is the person both he and Lord Kohaku has to protect, hugging a girl whom he just met... was disgraceful. Shinano has always looked up to his lord, but now, he felt angry at him.

Somehow, Shinano felt that the anger he felt wasn't just anger... But being Shinano, he ignored that thought immediately. He cleared his throat and said: "You two, are" Shinano stopped a while to find the word, "close", which indirectly strengthens the word. Chihiro flushed red.

"Owhhhhhh you two god damn are" Nanami who came close just now said

"So, is this the man you told us about?" Misaki who was beside Nanami said, at the same time looking at Haku, from afar it looked like it was manners, but if looked closely, it wasn't hard to see that Misaki was judging.

"Misaki!" Chihiro's face was as red as a tomato. Misaki gave Chihiro an apologise look, but what has been said, has been said. Lord Haku smirked

"Owh, I wonder what have you told them about" Lord Kohaku looked at Chihiro, teasingly, lovingly, proudly... Anger boiled through Shinano, but, was it just anger? No, it contained... jealousy. This feeling wasn't new to Shinano, he had once felt jealousy too. But that, was a long time ago. The conversation between the girls and his lord was blocked out. He couldn't believe that he was having this feeling again, which leads to him blocking out everything else. A mood he hasn't gone into for a long, long time. Shinano was always on call, always paying attention to his surroundings. For him to block other things out, one can easily imagine how confused he was.

And in that moment, the poker face he had always worn had wavered. Though none of the girls realised (all too busy), his lord did.

* * *

The very same night, after promising Chihiro that he will see her again the next day and that it was not a dream, Haku went to look for his apprentice. Shinano wasn't hard to find, he was probably too lost to bother about hiding his presence. Shinano was sitting at a cliff edge, legs dangling over the unknown depths, looking up at the moon above. The gentle moonlight giving a mysterious feeling to the teenager. Haku flew over and walked towards him. Shinano barely glanced at him, which was something very unusual.

"What's wrong" Haku said, sitting down beside Shinano

"Nothing" Shinano said, Haku frowned.

"Look at me as you talk" Haku said. Shinano ignored him, which proves Haku's theory that something was off with Shinano. Shinano had always treated Haku with great respect, Shinano only treats him with disrespect whenever something was wrong.

"I said look at me" Haku decided to use a little force, he cupped Shinano's chin with his hand, forcing him to turn over to look at him. Shinano immediately swapped his hand away and turned away, as if wanting to escape Haku's gaze. Even so, it was enough to make Shinano talk.

"How could you hug someone who you just met?" Shinano said without even looking at him "Even if she has a high spiritual body you can't just…"

"You mean Chihiro?" Haku was slightly surprised by Shinano's reply

"Yes" Haku could feel that Shinano was trying very hard to hold back his temper "My Lord, I never saw you as a playboy, but today I'm so disappointed with you!"

"It seems like you have misunderstood something" Haku said, "Chihiro and I have a past" he started remembering the time he first met Chihiro. The little girl who had bent over a bridge so far that she could have easily fall over just to see a train pass; the little girl whose pink shoe fell into the river; the little girl who had went through so many hardships at a young age, the little girl who he had fallen for. A gentle smile creeped up Haku's beautiful face. "Let me tell you from the beginning" Shinano looked over curiously

"Surely you've heard of Yubaba, the bathhouse ex-head. I was her apprentice, one day when I returned from my mission I saw a girl, wearing clothes that was obviously not from our world. That could only mean that she came from the World of The Living. Somehow I felt attracted to her, as if I had known her from a long time ago. The sun was setting and it was no longer safe for her, I told her to run, run as fast as she could, told her to cross the river before the sun sets. She started running while I distracted the spirits. The sun was soon out of sight but I had a feeling that she was still around in the spirit world. I quickly went to look for her, and as I expected I found her, hugging herself in a corner, her body had started to fade, as she did not belong to our world. I gave her a pill and told her to eat it, she was resistant at first, which was perfectly normal for a ten year old girl. However when she realised that she could no longer touch me, she was so stunned she stop resisting, and allowed me to feed her the pill. I told her that she was alright and gave her my hand to prove it, she touched my palm and she cooled down a lot. Suddenly, I felt Yubaba's presence" Haku began telling Shinano about the story that had occurred 7 years ago, Shinano was listening with full interest.

"I quickly covered her with my body, telling her not to move, hoping that I would be able to cover her human scent. Luckily it seemed that Yubaba did not notice us, I knew that she had to get a job at the bathhouse to be safe, therefore I told her to quickly follow me. She couldn't stand, maybe Yubaba did notice her presence after all. It wasn't a strong spell, I quickly undid the spell and helped her stand up, I brought her towards the bathhouse, told her to take a deep breath, and hold it. I set a spell on her so that no spirits could see nor smell her unless they were a very powerful spirit. She held my arm very tightly, she was doing a good job until a frog spirit jumped up to greet me. It surprised her and she let go of her breath. Before the spirit could shout about the presence of a human, I sealed him with a weak barrier that would break soon, and took Chihiro's hand and flew through the spirits, causing some commotion…" Haku didn't feel like explaining that it was the wind that he caused that blowed out the dresses of some female spirits that caused them to scream.

"I lead her to a small gate and escaped from the spirits. I used my power to show her the way of the bathhouse, I taught her how to get to Kamaji's room and told her to find a job. I told her to go alone but she begged me to stay. I explained to her why I could not help her out, and then I told her my name, which was Haku then, as I couldn't remember my name. I went to see Yubaba, at first it was all about my previous mission. However suddenly she asked me if I had seen a human, and I told her no. Without the slightest feeling of guilt, that surprised me a lot. I was dismissed. I secretly observed Chihiro and found out she was with Lin when I was called again. It was to take Chihiro to her new job, I was cold to her because I knew Yubaba would be watching. I dropped her off with Lin because I believe that she would take good care of her, and then I left" Before Haku could continue his story, both him and Shinano felt the presence of the evil spirit. It was a very, very, very familiar spirit energy to Haku. He was glad he came, because if his guess was correct, Shinano wouldn't be enough to deal with _him_.

Chihiro was in grave danger


	10. Chapter 10

Shinano watched as his lord eyes which were once lost in thought snapped into focus. Lord Kohaku stood up quickly and said :"He's here" Shinano nodded and stood up too. Together, Shinano and his lord flew towards the direction the scent of the evil spirit came from. None of them bothering to change back into spirit form. (Its only a form, it does not affect their abilities) After learning part of the story, Shinano was no longer mad as his lord. His lord wasn't a playboy, his lord was just... in love with Chihiro Ogino. Jealousy once again emerged in his heart, _why?!_ Shinano didn't know the answer.

"So, we meet again, Shinano" They were at the river where Shinano first learnt about Chihiro's name. The spirit had grown considerably stronger, the evil spirit now was able to take form of a handsome looking teenager. He was wearing a black tee-shirt, tight jeans, and this 'bad-boy' aura that could definitely make the girls at school squeal. A spirit needs to have a certain amount of spiritual energy to take form of a human. Obviously, the evil-spirit's spiritual energy has increased a lot, which means he has become much stronger. Which was literally impossible, there wasn't enough time.

"I will be back, Shinano, and the next time we meet, it won't be so easy" The last conversation he had with the spirit rang in his mind. He had fulfill his promise, this won't be an easy fight.

That is, if he was the only one fighting.

Next to him was a Master of an area, the evil-spirit is nothing compared to his lord. He took a glance at his lord, his lord had a serious expression. Was this spirit a dangerous opponent? Or was it just because this was the spirit that was threatening Chihiro Ogino? Shinano could not read his face, or should he say, no longer. He felt as if his lord was a different person than he was before.

"It's been a long time, Tone (To-ne)" Lord Haku said without showing a change of expression. Does Lord Haku know this spirit?

"Oh yes, it has been a very, very, long time dear teacher. I've heard that you've became Master of Tokyo, or was it Osaka? Hmm, maybe Kyoto? You know what? I don't really care" The evil spirit was showing no sign of respect of all, but judging by how he calls Lord Kohaku, he was once Lord Kohaku's student. Shinano had not heard any news of any student before him, so why does this Tone calls Lord Kohaku his teacher?

"It seems that you have regain your spiritual energy" Lord Haku wasn't mad at the evil spirit named Tone's disrespect nor did he admit that Tone was his student.

"I've trained for years to regain what once was mine. I still remember the day you personally absorbed all my spiritual energy all because I suggested a way to improve our land. Did you really think that would be enough to destroy me? You know my abilities Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi." Hearing Tone saying his lord's full name out loud with such a harsh tone made Shinano very angry, nobody disrespects his lord. (Let's just ignore the fact that Shinano _just_ disrespected him shall we, he was mad)

"You know what you've done Tone, absorbing your spiritual energy was all I could do to help you" Haku said, ignoring the other half of Tone's speech

"Well, you should have just killed me!" Tone's voice was filled with anger, at the same moment he finished talking, Tone launched an attack towards Lord Kohaku. Coincidentally, Shinano had had enough of Tone's disrespect towards his lord and launched an attack. The two attacks collided and Shinano's attack was completely pushed back without even putting up a fight. Lord Kohaku had to interfere to block the attack for Shinano. Shinano could not believe that his attack didn't even stood a chance against Tone's. Just about a week ago, Tone was just a weak spirit, but now Shinano was no match for him.

 _But was Tone just a weak spirit?_

The question suddenly struck Shinano. As far as Shinano knew, Tone could have just been hiding his spiritual energy. When they first faced each other, Tone could have just been toying with him. Showing Shinano that he had no interest in fighting him. Some parts didn't make sense to Shinano, for example how weak the barrier was, and why had the evil spirit he saw tried to swallow Chihiro Ogino to posses her? Tone definitely had the ability to posses her without doing that, and he could have done it much faster? So why use the slow way if there was a faster way?

Shinano could only think about it later, for Tone wasn't done yet.

Tone launched a second attack towards them which Lord Kohaku swapped aside, which destroyed everything that came in contact, which caused some smoke. Using the smoke as disguise, Tone ran towards them so fast that Shinano didn't even see him coming. Shinano only managed to get eye contact with Tone and saw something that surprised him before Tone hit Shinano in his chest and sent him flying. The blow was so hard that for a second Shinano thought that would be the end of him, and for a few moments Shinano couldn't move nor see anything. Shinano was the apprentice of the Master, which ultimately leads to him being a strong spirit, but now, Shinano had coughed up blood.

"Shinano!" Shinano heard his lord called out to him.

"Uh uh! You shouldn't take your eyes off your enemy!" Shinano heard Tone's voice, but he still couldn't see anything. Shinano had never felt any more useless. When Shinano had finally adjusted to the pain, he saw Tone and Lord Kohaku fighting each other in the sky. They exchanged fist, took turns to block and dodge, attacked with their spiritual energy and also took turns getting hit. It was an intense fight between two very strong spirits and those who could be even with Lord Kohaku could be counted by a single hand. Currently on Shinano's list: One and one only, Tone.

"It seems that you have improved as well, _teacher_ " Shinano overheard Tone say

"I see you practiced defense" Said Lord Kohaku

"Did you really think I'd be the same as five years ago?" Shinano was completely out of the situation. Based on what Tone said, Lord Kohaku was Tone's teacher five years ago, yet for some reason he no longer is. And something about Lord Kohaku absorbing his spiritual energy? Shinano couldn't even grasp an idea on what was going on. After a few more moves, they both landed on the ground, facing each other few metres away.

"Let's draw the curtains" Lord Kohaku said, charging spiritual energy in his fist

"The very same thoughts I had in mind" Tone said, mimicking what Lord Kohaku had just done. Two huge attacks from two strong spirits collided, both attacks pushing against each other, neither willing to back down. They both continued to pour spiritual energy into their attacks respectively. Sometimes the white coloured spiritual energy that belonged to Lord Kohaku would push back the light blue coloured spiritual energy belonging to Tone and vice versa. But in the end the other side would push back. At some point the attacks didn't push back and forth any more, but exploded. As in, literally exploded. The light caused by the explosion forced Shinano to looked away, when he could see again, his lord was standing while Tone was kneeling on the floor coughing out blood. His lord has won the fight!

"I will be back" Tone glared up at Lord Kohaku's cold face, and then dissolved into the shadows. Shinano had the bad feeling that the next time Tone shows up, his lord may not be able to defeat him any more. Shinano was just about to call out to his lord when Lord Kohaku suddenly spat out blood.

Lord Kohaku collapsed to the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

Chihiro was surprised to see two heavily injured spirits showing up at her doorway. Nushi was supporting Haku who was unconscious. She quickly stepped aside to let them enter.

"Who's at the door, darling?" Chihiro's mum voice came from the kitchen

"My friends! They're spirits and they are seriously injured! Can they stay and rest?" Chihiro replied, earning a surprised look from Nushi.

"Sure, let them rest on the sofa while we think of something" Her mum's reply came. Following her mum's order, Chihiro helped Nushi to lead the unconscious Haku onto the sofa and laid him down.

"Your mum knows about spirits?" Nushi asked

"Well, I told my parents about our trip to the Spirit World, thankfully they believed, they are the only ones who did." Chihiro would only learn later that this made no sense to one who had no idea about what had happened in the past. Luckily for her, Nushi had heard some part of the story. "Nushi, how did Haku get into this condition?" She turned to look at Nushi

"Long story" Nushi turned away as if something was bothering him "You can call me Shinano by the way, Nano Nushi was just a fake name"

"I see" Chihiro didn't ask anything about what happened. She was too worried about Haku to care about anything else. He was still wearing his school uniform, was that all he had? For a spirit to come to the World of The Living, he probably didn't have any casual clothes. Where was he living? There was no way he had a home here. Would he be okay?

"How's his condition?" Her mum came forward, Shinano glanced at her mum cautiously as if judging if she was on their side or not.

"I don't know, it looks like he's heavily injured" Chihiro didn't take her eyes off Haku

"Does he need a doctor?" It was her dad who came forward this time, Shinano was still on guard. To her parents, it only looked like a teenager sleeping while the other male had some red stains on his shirt. Well, at least her parents won't freak out, Chihiro really didn't feel like dealing with freaked out parents.

"Thank you for the offer, but Lord Kohaku will recover soon by himself" Shinano said, hearing Shinano say that, Chihiro felt so relieved. Then she thought of something, Shinano looked like he had been injured very badly too, how was he?

"How about you, Nu… I mean, Shinano? How are you doing?" Chihiro looked up again

"I got a few broken ribs but they will heal soon" Shinano said with his poker face as if it didn't hurt at all. Chihiro nodded and said no more. Somewhere in the distance, Chihiro heard her parents were offering to help Shinano wash his blood-stained clothes and give him some casual clothes. How did it turn out? Did Shinano accept or reject the offer? Chihiro didn't know nor care. What she did knew was that she was soon alone.

Chihiro took Haku's hand and held it in her smaller ones. She held it tight and stare blankly at Haku's face. It was just like seven years ago, Haku being heavily injured and Chihiro looked after him. In the past, Chihiro had went to Zeniba to seek for help, which turned out unnecessary by the way, but this time, how was she supposed to help? She didn't even know the cause. All she could do was sit beside Haku and blink back her tears, feeling scared and lonely. She had finally met the man in her dreams, would she have to lose him in the very same day?

In the end, Chihiro failed to keep her tears back.


	12. Chapter 12

_Haku, wake up_

"Who's there?" Haku thought, being unable to see anything. He couldn't move his body, he couldn't open his eyes, everything was pitch black.

 _Haku, wake up_

The voice kept calling out to him, but he couldn't reach it. Droplets, droplets of water dripped on his hand, was the owner of the voice crying?Something about the voice made Haku wanted to wake up and embrace the owner of the voice and tell him/her, probably a her, everything was alright.

"Master Kohaku!" Suddenly Haku saw a boy, around 11, with red eyes and hair the colour of the midnight sky, running towards another him. It was like watching a movie. The boy was his apprentice, not Shinano but before him, Tone. Tone was a genius, who could build up spiritual energy twice as fast as other spirits.

Spiritual energy in simple terms, is the power of a spirit. It is what determines if a spirit is strong or weak. A strong spirit would have a lot of spiritual energy and vice-versa. Spiritual energy is trained, however, depending on each spirit, the time needed to build up the same amount of spiritual energy differs. Just like how some humans can master martial arts easily while some humans needs to train twice as hard to obtain the same level, some spirits can gain a lot of spiritual energy in a short period of time while some need to train much harder than usual spirits.

Tone falls into the first category.

Tone was not only strong for his age, he was the most talented spirit anyone ever saw. The only one who was _said_ to be as talented as Tone, was the one and only Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. No one knew who Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi was before he became Yubaba's apprentice. Some says he was the most talented spirit ever borned while some say he trained 24/7 to become this powerful. Which was true? Nobody knew. Not even Haku. His memory had been sealed by Yubaba, even after the events 7 years ago, all he remembered was a pink shoe, the little girl and of course, his name. He couldn't even remember where his river was, much less how he had once train. Whatever the case, the fact was Haku was now a legend, just like all the other Masters had been.

And Haku was training Tone to become the next legend. Yes, it might sound weird for Haku, who was only a year older than Tone, to train Tone. However, it was a world where your ability comes first and your age doesn't matter.

"Master Kohaku look at this trick I just learnt!" Young Tone controlled some water in a glass he was holding to rise. He looked at Haku with eyes full of hope waiting for his comment. Haku smiled gently at him, something he seldom did to Shinano, and snapped his fingers. All of the water in the glass shot out of its container and flew circles around them like a dog chasing its own tail. The water then changed its shape into a butterfly and fluttered its water wings. The butterfly than perched on the glass and turned back to its original form and returned to the glass again.

"Oh my god! Teach me how to do that!" Young Tone looked up from the glass with eager eyes, and the Haku patted Tone's head. The scene flashed. It was again Young Tone, now 12. Young Tone and Haku just had a friendly battle. Haku's fist was barely an inch away from Young Tone's face who was on the ground.

"I'm only one year younger than you, why can't I ever beat you" Young Tone grumbled while allowing Haku to help him up

"I told you to practice defense. Your defense is zero"

"Nahh, defense is for weaklings"

"If only you would practice defense... you would be much more harder to defeat you know." Haku tried to talk Tone into practicing defense for the dozenth time, which of course ended in the same result:

"No thank you, Master Kohaku"

The real Haku felt a little happy, though unable to smile or whatsoever. It was such good memories. There was Young Tone learning about how to disguise as another type of spirits. A trick that few had succeeded in. It was unknown how long it took Haku to learn it, but he apparently, does. Oh there was where he learnt how to control his energy, to only knock the opponent out without harming him/her. And there was where Tone learnt how to use spiritual energy during hand-to-hand combats. Haku had taught him almost everything he knew, the only things he didn't taught him was due to the lack of time. Remember, Haku had become the Master of an area, which makes him have limited time to teach Tone.

"Hey Master Kohaku, would you support me if I wanted to do something" It was another day after practice when Tone was 12

"Where did this come from?" Haku raised his eyebrows

"You see, I want to write a story, but well you know... Everyone looks at me as the most talented spirit and that I should be training 27/7" In that moment, a hint of loneliness was shown in Tone's eyes. Haku smiled and placed his hand on Tone's shoulder

"I will support you in anything you want to do all the way"

Before Haku could feel touched by the scene, the happy memories came to an end. The scene flashed to the year Tone had become 13 and was able to talk during meetings. Haku prayed for the memory to stop playing, he didn't want to continue watching. He wanted it to stop, he knew what was going to happen next, and he didn't like it at all.

"I suggest that we expand our territory towards the World of the Living" It was too late, Tone had said it, the tragic memory had begun

"That is against the rules!" The officials who were jealous of Tone's talent and ability had finally got the chance to chase Tone out of the story, and they definitely won't miss this chance "Lord Kohaku! He should die for what he had said!"

"Master Kohaku, I know it's against the rules but don't you think it's about time to change that rule? We have followed the rule , but have the humans? Your river was destroyed by humans, they have polluted the Earth, it's time we take back control!"

"Do not talk to Lord Kohaku with that tone!"

"We should face the facts!"

"The rule is rule, you ought to have your head sliced off in public!"

"You are all denying the truth! You lot just want me dead!"

"SILENCE" Haku's voice boomed through the room, the room quickly quiet down. The real Haku was watching nervously, this was where he struggled to make the final decision. To choose between his apprentice or the peace of the court. For greater good, Haku made his decision:

"Tone, you have broken the law, but as you had given much contribution to us, you will not be killed as the rule says, but only have your spiritual energy absorbed and thrown out of the court" Haku said, ignoring all complaints from the other officials. Haku knew, that was all he could do to keep Tone alive, but it was just hard to make the decision.

"Master Kohaku!" Tone tried to protest but Haku raised his hand to silence him. Tone was taken away and at the last moment before Tone left the room Tone said: "You will regret this, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi" And he saw Tone glaring up with tears in his eyes. Haku could tell Tone felt betrayed and hurt; was angry and sad. But that was all he could do to help him... His apprentice, destroyed by his very own hands.

 _Forgive me, Tone_

Haku didn't even try to fight against the darkness that started to engulf him again. He had broken his promise to Tone. Maybe, he should just stay here forever. Maybe, that would make it up to Tone. Maybe, he... was the reason Chihiro was endangered

* * *

He could feel it, his lord wasn't unable to recover but unwilling to. He sat by his lord's side, Chihiro Ogino asleep upstairs. Shinano watched as Lord Kohaku's chest rise and fall at an even pace. What was keeping him from awaking? Who was that Tone guy? What was the backstory of Lord Kohaku and Tone? Shinano had so many questions but no answers. The only person who could give him answers was the person infront of him which refused to wake up.

Shinano started thinking about Tone's actions. Judging from the spiritual energy, Shinano was sure that the weak spirit he engaged at the river was Tone, but becoming so strong in less than a week was impossible, even for the most talented. Therefore Tone must had hid his spiritual energy. But just like how he had wondered during his previous encounter with him, too many parts didn't make sense. Shinano clenched his fist tightly, all of these weren't making any sense! First Tone's relationship with Lord Kohaku, then Tone's weird actions. It all didn't make sense!

Something clicked inside Shinano's mind, and an idea emerged. Shinano cursed himself for not thinking about it earlier, it was so obvious! How could he not have seen it! The puzzle was beginning to fix itself. That was it! It was all part of Tone's plan.

As for Tone's motives for doing such a thing, based on the conversation Tone had with his lord, Tone held some grudge towards Lord Kohaku. So Shinano's guess was it was for revenge. Tone held no interest in possesing Chihiro to get invincible power, all he wanted was revenge on his lord. Shinano had absolutely no idea about their backstory, but the person in front of him did. There was another thing that he had absolutely no idea. Why did Tone looked at him with eyes filled with guilt before he attacked? There was only one who could possibly answer that.

Wake up, my lord.


	13. Chapter 13

Haku was still unconscious when Chihiro woke up the next morning. Shinano was still sitting there with the casual clothes that her parents borrowed him. A white T-shirt that belonged to her dad when he was young and a pajamas pants. Chihiro felt a little bad, for letting Shinano take watch while Shinano was hurt himself. She told him to go up to her room and get some rest, he must had been tired for he didn't try to argue.

Chihiro couldn't stand looking at Haku in his current state. She barely got any sleep last night because she was worried sick, what if his condition became worst? Unlike Shinano, Chihiro has no idea about Haku's abilities. She was after all, just human. Her parents must have understood that for they told her to go out and buy some things for them. Being in their debt, although Chihiro would prefer staying back, she went out to the grocery store. She wanted to return to the man in her dreams as soon as possible. Therefore, she took a shortcut home, a road that lead through a forest. It was commonly used by people, some even went there for picnics, this shows that the route was not dangerous. Chihiro had used this road multiple times and the worst situation she got herself into was a lot of mosquitoes bites.

But that all changed when she saw a man laying on the floor. The man glanced her way and waved his hand in her direction. Chihiro suddenly couldn't control herself and her legs moved on their own. As much as Chihiro wanted to return quickly to Haku and how much Chihiro's sixth sense told her that it was dangerous, her body would not respond to her. Soon, she reached infront of the man.

"A little mind controlling was all it took to get you huh" The man said "Sit down and we will talk"

Chihiro unwillingly sat, feeling more and more nervous at the moment, the man sat up and began talking.

"Don't try to fight against my mind control, even if you have a high spiritual body, you won't be able be able to fight against me. My name is Tone, yours is Chihiro, nice to meet you. If you haven't notice, I am the spirit which attacked you last week. I give my apologies for treating you in such a way, but it was necessary to lure Nigiha… oh, you would know him better as Haku I believe, out. But it seems that I underestimated his love for you, Shinano hadn't even made his report and he is already here" The man, named Tone, said while stroking her hair. "No worries, I'm not interested in getting your body. Invincible power isn't what I want, all I want is revenge. Revenge on your Haku!" Tone began to get emotionally unstable, he clenched his fist tightly. Chihiro wanted to run away from him but she was still under his control.

"I will make him realise that what he did back then was wrong! I will take over his place and expand our territory towards your world of the living. You humans don't know how to protect the environment. Just look at your world! Your Haku's river was destroyed by humans, so many tree spirits lost their home just so you humans could build your so called cities! All of the tree spirits here are afraid, afraid that their houses are next to be cut down! We spirits had followed our part of our contract to not interfere you human, but have you humans? You humans had not follow your part of the contract to protect the environment!" Tone was basically shouting now, he hit the tree nearby and Chihiro could hear its leaves rattling, Tone muttered a sorry. Chihiro wondered if it the leaves rattling was actually the spirits talking. Just because she could hear them doesn't mean she could understand them.

"Do not worry I will not harm you. Unlike you humans, I won't harm the innocent." Tone had considerably calmed down. But Chihiro could still see the anger in his eyes. "I'm telling you all of this only because you just happened to pass by. You would most probably go home and cry into your Haku and tell him all about him. Who knows maybe Shinano would be there listening too. But you see, I don't really care. I wouldn't mind if they knew about my motives. Heck, maybe it would even make things better. Now go back Chihiro, go back to where you came from. Before I regret telling you all of these and decided to silence you"

With a flick of Tone's hand, Chihiro regained control of her body. Tone closed his eyes and lay back down. Everything was telling her to run away. Her mind, her heart, her sixth sense. But instead, she spoke up: "Haku's not waking up" All the uneasiness and worry she felt last night were building up tears. "Shinano said he should have recovered by now, but… but he's not waking up. I have no idea what is wrong. He… he just came back one day heavily injured and never woke up" Not knowing that Tone was the reason Haku was hurt, Chihiro told the man she just met that seemed to be a spirit and knew Haku. Chihiro was too naive to think that Tone must be very strong to be able to say that he wanted revenge from Haku, too innocent to think that telling an enemy that was dangerous. All she knew, was that Haku wasn't waking up. She would regret later telling someone she just met about this, but for now, she didn't think about it. One could call her stupid, but all it was actually was blinded by love.

"..." Tone opened his eyes and looked up at her face which had tears streaming down. He raised his hand and gently wiped them away "Return to him now, call for him. He probably is just unwilling to. Tell him that by staying unconscious won't put out my fire. Tell him if he wants you safe, he will need to wake up. Go Chihiro Ogino, he will need you to wake up"

"Are you sure?" Chihiro dried the tears in her eyes and asked

"Go" This time, Chihiro stood up, groceries in hand and ran home. For some reasons, Chihiro trusted what Tone had said.

 _Haku, wait for me_


	14. Chapter 14

_Haku, wake up_

Haku could hear the same voice calling out to him again. It was still the same situation, he couldn't move. He could feel the owner of the voice trembling, as if he or she desperately wanted him to wake up. He wanted to wake up but something was holding him back.

Tone's angry yet hurt face emerged in his mind, _You will regret this, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi_

That's right… He had betrayed his promise about supporting Tone no matter what he did. He was better off here in the darkness, it would cease Tone's fire now that he was out of the picture. Right?

 _Haku, please wake up_

"I'm sorry" Haku thought towards the owner of the voice.

 _It''s me, Chihiro, please wake up. Please wake up I'm begging you_

Something in Haku snapped, how could he have not noticed that the voice belonged to her? How could he have left Chihiro worried? He remembered about the droplets on his hand. How could he make Chihiro cried? He needs to wake up and tell her it's all right

Yet Tone's face appeared again. Did he deserve to wake up and see the girl he loves?

 _Tone says that staying unconscious isn't going to cease his anger_

How did Chihiro found out about Tone? Did Shinano told her? Something about Tone said… "Oh god please don't tell me Chihiro had met Tone" thought Haku. Now he was seriously trying to fight against the darkness, if lying unconscious wasn't going help, why prevent himself from waking up and seeing Chihiro? Haku wanted to wake up, he wanted to see Chihiro.

 _Tone said that if you wanted me to be safe you will need to wake up_

Haku could feel his conscious regaining, he could move his fingers. His spiritual energy was now repairing everything that was damaged during his fight with Tone. He felt his mind getting clearer with every second that passed.

 _That's why, please wake up! Haku!_

Haku opened his eyes to the blinding lights.

There were two silhouettes standing above him. When his eyes got used to the lights, he found out that it was Chihiro and Shinano staring at him, both wearing a relieved expression. Haku sat up and before he could say anything, Chihiro crashed into him and hugged him tightly.

"You are finally awake" Chihiro began to sob onto his shoulders.

"You were out for a day, she was worried sick" Shinano said

Haku nodded and patted Chihiro's back while hugging her.

"I'm back, I'm back" Haku whispered into Chihiro's ears, calming her down. Chihiro soon fell asleep in his arms, Shinano's expression told him that he had something to tell him. Haku therefore carried Chihiro bridal style and told Shinano to lead him to her room. After placing her down on her bed and covered her blankets, Haku gently stroked her face. It hurts to see Chihiro in this condition. Forcing himself to turn away, Haku beckoned Shinano to follow him to the living room.

"You look like there's something you want to tell me, what is it?" Haku asked

"Chihiro Ogino has already met Tone" When those words left Shinano's mouth it struck Haku like lightning. What he heard just now wasn't a hallucination. "She has told me the story, it seems that Tone has no interest in possesing a high spiritual body" Shinano told him the encounter between Chihiro and Tone while Haku listened silently. When Shinano finished his story, Haku closed his eyes and took a deep breath

 _So, you've never changed_

"Lord Kohaku… Just who is Tone? He seems to know you" Shinano asked Haku curiously. Haku let a bitter smile climb up his face and spoke: "Me and Tone go a long way back. He was a nice and gentle person, arrogant sometimes. Some things never change huh. Wanna hear his story?"

"Sure" Shinano replied, both of them sat down on the sofa and Haku began his story. Hopefully finishing and not stopping half way like last time.

"Tone was a very talented spirit, it only took him five years to got as strong as he was during our last encounter from zero" Haku took in the surprised look on Shinano "I had never seen anyone more talented than him. In the same year when I replaced Yubaba as head of the bathhouse, I took him in as an apprentice, not wanting such talent to go waste. He was willing to learn and practiced hard, he caught up to me the next year. If you remember, I became the Master in the very same year. Which means that I had very limited time to teach him. I used all of my free time and taught him everything I could. I would say he was like a child to me but he was more like a brother, considering his age"

"What happened next?"

"Tone became 13, as you know, the year when he had the rights to talk in court. During that year, Tone was easily the strongest of all of the spirits. Nobody stood a chance against him, not even me. The only reason I could defeat him during our friendly battles was because he just wouldn't practice defense. Any experienced fighter would know that not learning defense could lead to your defeat. And when we fought during our last encounter, I could barely keep up with his attacks and he has practiced defense. It was that final blast that defeated him, while he still had the stamina to fly away, I was knocked out cold. Anyways, Tone was envied by most of the spirits in court, and they would always keep an eye out for Tone just to find any mistakes he made to have him out of the story. Tone was aware of this and always went along with them. He never got mad at them, pranked them sometimes by appearing behind them and ask what they were doing, while attacking them wouldn't be against the law since they were the ones who tailed him first but he never lifted a finger towards them. 'They are innocent' He would tell me, 'I would never hurt innocent people' While no one stood a chance against him, he never fought against anyone unless it was a friendly battle"

"So would it be safe to assume he went down the wrong path?"

"No," It pained Haku to tell the next part of the story but he forced himself to " _I_ pushed him down the wrong path" Haku ignored Shinano's surprised face and continued his story

"Five years ago during one of our daily meeting, Tone suggested that we expand our territory towards the World of the Living. I know what you are going to say, it is against the rules. That was exactly what the officials that were jealous of Tone's talent said. Tone had a very good reason to back up his idea, which you already know from Chihiro's story. However, those officials had long wanted him dead, did you think they would listen to reason? The court is a much darker place than it seems. I could have saved him, with his reasons and all, but I didn't. I chose to keep to peace of the court, and removed Tone out of the story. I couldn't bear to kill him, so instead I decided to absorb all of his spiritual power and throw him out of court. It was the only way I could think of that would get him out of the story yet keep him alive. He was taken away by guards. While he could have easily got those guards off him, he didn't. At first I wondered why, then I remembered that he would never harm the innocent. He glared up at me with tears and hate in his eyes. I once promised him that I would support him in everything he did, but I broke that promise." Haku could feel the guilt building up inside him and it was transforming into tears, he clenched his fist, refusing to let them drop. A tear slipped out of his control and went down his cheek

"Lord Kohaku…"

"You know what made it worst? When I was tidying the room he used to stay in, I found his diary. Curious, I opened it. In the first page was a photo of me and him when we first met. I began reading his diary and realised that it was filled with moments between us. All those times we spent together were recorded. There was one page that wrote ' _Master Kohaku is so busy! I want to become stronger so that I can help him out and with that we will get more time to spend together_ ' That sentence broke my heart" Haku took a deep breath. Even after five years, Tone was still a deep wound that wouldn't heal. Remembering everything he read from the diary, two more tears trickled down his face

"The worst part of the whole diary was the last entry: ' _I've decided to tell Master Kohaku to expand our territory towards the World of the Living. With my reasons, Master Kohaku would definitely agree! Besides, Master Kohaku promised that he would support me in everything!'_ I.. I.. I must had broke his heart when I made that decision. He looked up at me, trusted me, and what did I give him in return? A broken promise"

"My lord…"

Realising that he had lost his composure, Haku quickly wiped off the tears that stained his cheeks and eyes. He smiled a fake smile and patted Shinano on his shoulder "Well that's the story between me and Tone. I'm going to check on Chihiro" While he was walking towards the stairs, Shinano caught his hand.

"Lord Kohaku, it really wasn't your fault"

Haku smiled and gently pry Shinano's hand from his.


	15. Chapter 15

It hurts. It hurts to see Lord Kohaku in this state while being unable to do anything. Shinano had never seen his lord in such state. He remembered the times he spent with his lord, his lord never smiled at him and was always serious. Shinano worked as hard as he could if only to make Lord Kohaku acknowledge his skills but he never succeeded. Back then Shinano would think that he was weak or his lord hated him a lot, but now he knew, his lord just didn't get over Tone and didn't want to get too close with him.

Speaking of Tone, Shinano now understood why Tone had that guilty look in his eyes when he attacked him. Tone was able to knock his lord unconscious though got heavily injured in process, but that still meant he was much stronger than Shinano. Tone could have easily killed Shinano back then but he only knocked him back, making him unable to fight but not dead.

' _They are innocent' He would tell me, 'I would never hurt innocent people'_

After thinking for a while, Shinano left the house. He was going to find Tone and ask some questions. If Tone wasn't going to harm any innocent, Shinano was sure they could have a peaceful talk. Hopefully.

* * *

Chihiro woke up staring at Haku's face and smiled. That's right, she had called out to him just now and he had responded to her.

"How long was I asleep? Chihiro sat up and asked Haku

"Not long, just about half an hour." Haku said while smiling lovingly. There was something off with Haku's face.

"Were you crying?" Chihiro stretched out her hand to touch Haku's face. Haku's smile faded away and he averted his gaze from her. Chihiro knew that he was admitting it. "Is something wrong?"

"No… Not really" Haku said "How are you feeling?" Chihiro could feel that Haku was trying to change the subject and decided not to push him. After all, everyone has their own privacy. She hugged Haku and said: "You can always tell me if something is wrong, even if I can't help I will listen. I won't force you to, but if you feel like confiding into someone, know that I will be right here"

"Thank you... Thank you, Chihiro" Haku embraced her and placed his head onto her shoulder "Really, thank you" Chihiro could feel his voice trembling. "Even heroes have weak moments huh" thought Chihiro

Haku soon pulled away and Chihiro smiled reassuringly. Haku smiled and placed his hand on her cheek

"I still feel like this is too good to be real" Haku said "Meeting you again, it feels like a dream"

Chihiro placed her hand on his and said: "The best one ever" Their eyes made contact and it was as if an understanding flew through them, Haku was decreasing the distance between them and Chihiro felt her heartbeat increase and butterflies were flying inside her stomach. There was barely any distance left-

"Chihiro! We're home!" Chihiro's mum's voice echoed through the otherwise quiet house.

"We bought some clothes for your friends! Tell them to come down and try them on!" That was her dad

"Owh so your friend is awake! How nice!" They have realise that Haku was awake.

Haku pulled away and chuckled: "Let's go down and greet them alright?" Chihiro's face burned red as she remembered what just happened and nodded. Haku took her hand as they walked down the stairs together.

"There you are! How are you feeling?" They met her parents and her mum said to Haku, her mum glanced at their connected hands but didn't say anything.

"Fine, thank you for your concern" Haku said with Chihiro's hand still in his, totally not bothered by her mum's gaze "Thank you for letting me rest here, I really appreciate your help"

"Owh listen to you so flattering. If you are a friend of Chihiro you are always welcomed here!" Her mum chimed "Where is your friend? That boy named… Shinano I believed"

"He's not here?" Haku and Chihiro exchanged glances, both not knowing a single thing about Shinano's leaving "I'm sure he can take care of himself though, he'll probably be back soon"

"Hmm alright. I have no idea in how you spirits act sorry if I'm over reacting. By the way! We got these clothes for you guys! We couldn't just let you keep wearing your uniforms or her father's old clothes could me? Come here and try these on" Her mum said cheerfully while walking to the back of the house. Chihiro made a mental note to explain how her parents knew about spirits to Haku later. "Bring them here, darling!"

"Oh.. Okay" Haku let go of her hand and smiled at her before following her parents to the back of the house. Chihiro thought about how wonderful it was to have Haku here. Just like what Haku had said, it was too good to be real.


	16. Chapter 16

Haku tried out many different type of combinations of clothes before both of her parents were satisfied. Somehow all of the clothes were the perfect size for him, his school uniform was now being washed along with all of the new clothes Chihiro's parents bought for him. He was currently wearing a shirt that looked like the water. It was black at the bottom, light blue in the middle and white on the top. When it blended together it looked like water. A black long pants went together with the shirt and it suited him a lot.

"You look gorgeous my dear!" Chihiro's mum said

"Looking good lad" Chihiro's dad patted his shoulder, both of them looking proud of their work. Haku gave his appreciation and left to find Chihiro. Out of all people, Haku wanted her opinion the most. He found her sitting in the living room reading a book, and she turned around as soon as he came close.

"So, how do I look" Haku said with a smile on his face, interested in her answer. He felt extremely happy when she stared at him lost of words, the bitterness of Tone's story already disappeared to thin air.

"Gosh you look great! It reminds me of your dragon form…" Chihiro said, eyes beginning to lose focus "Back then when you took me flying in the sky and when you saved me when I was a little kid,"

"Wanna go for another ride?"

"What?"

"The sun is setting now so we should leave soon if you want to" Haku looked outside the window and said

"We can?"

"Why not, tell your parents we're going out and we can leave" Haku could see the excitement in her eyes as she told her parents about it and together hand by hand they walked out of the door. Haku closed his eyes and focused on his spiritual energy. He thought about his dragon form and felt his spiritual energy take form of it, he opened his eyes and he was in his dragon form once again.

"Oh my gosh…" Chihiro stared in awe "This brings back so many memories" Haku, being unable to talk in this form, bowed his head to ask her to climb on. That was exactly what she did. It was as if time reversed and they were outside Zeniba's house. Haku took off into the sky and flew towards the sunset, catching sight of Chihiro's parents smiling at the door. He looked back at Chihiro and saw how the sunset reflected on her happy face. Haku smiled inside and looked back at the scenery. It was a wonderful view.

The sun was warm and there were some spirits waking up. Spirits slept in the day and are active in the night. Haku had his sleep when he was resting so staying up 'late' wasn't a problem. As for Shinano… Haku was sure he could take care of himself. Both of them entered school to find Chihiro, now that it was done, they would probably quit school and go back to their normal lives.

"Hey, Haku?" Haku could feel Chihiro leaning onto his head "I told my parents about my adventures in the Spirit World, so they know about spirits. They never asked anything but just believed whatever I said" Haku couldn't reply but he felt thankful for such understanding parents. Things would be much harder if it was any other way. Haku flew low when they were passing by the river where he had fought with Tone… Tone… Haku could feel the guilt building up again. The place was wrecked up pretty badly due to their fight, but it seems that Tone has already erased all proof that they were there. Chihiro held her hand out to touch the water, while Haku kept advancing stably so that she wouldn't fall.

"Did you know? This was the place I was first attacked by Tone, and where I found out Shinano's true identity" Chihiro's word caught him off guard, he has never heard of an attack on her "But no worries Shinano saved me and according to Tone he never intended to hurt me" Hearing Tone's mercy on Chihiro made him feel extremely sad. If he had never broken his promise, Tone would probably be still on his side and be his right-hand man….

Haku flew up again to the sky, not wanting to stay at that place any longer. He could hear Chihiro exclaim happily as he did so. That was right, Chihiro was with him, Haku felt a little happier with that thought.

"Being able to fly with you again, it really is a dream come true" Chihiro said "I had always dreamt of meeting you again, I never thought it would come true. But now look at me, not only I have reunited with you, I'm even flying with you! Dear god if this is a dream, I don't want to wake up"

" _Me too, Chihiro"_ thought Haku " _Me too"_

Haku perched on a tree and once again lowered his again to signal Chihiro to get down. Chihiro did as she was signaled and at once Haku returned to his human form. He took Chihiro into his arms to prevent her from falling down the tree. It _was_ a very tall tree after all. And together they watched as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.


	17. Chapter 17

Shinano stepped into the forest where Chihiro, yes he had started to call Chihiro Chihiro, had said to meet Tone. Would he meet him? Shinano had a feeling he would. The sun has not set but Shinano was beginning to feel cold and it had nothing to do with the temperature. Shinano was on high alert for any sound that indicate the appearance of Tone. Little did he know that there was already a pair of eyes staring at him. Shinano decided to voice up: "Tone! If you are there, I would like to talk with you. I'm not here to fight, I just want to have a peaceful talk"

No reply.

"It's about Lord Kohaku" Shinano took a deep breath and continued "I've heard about your story with him, there's some things I would like to ask"

Still there was no reply.

"Lord Kohaku has yet to get over you. Until these few days when he met up with Chihiro, I'm just going to assume you know the story between them. I had never seen him smile. I kept working hard to get his acknowledgement, but the most I ever got was a nod. I… I wouldn't say I could totally understand you, but working hard for him is something similar between us. Just now, he told me your backstory, and for the first time I saw him shed tears. I believe that to him you were a wound that never healed. There is something I wanna ask"

Silence.

"Fine, it's either you don't want to talk to me or you aren't here. But before I leave, I just want you to think. Is revenge on Lord Kohaku really what you want? I understand that you want the best for the Spirit World but overthrowing him isn't going to help, you will still need those officials to agree, and you can't do that without him. You are strong, much stronger than me, perhaps even stronger than Lord Kohaku as well, but you don't have the officials' loyalty. You should know, Tone, ruling by fear really isn't the way. I will take my leave now, I hope that if you are here, you would try to think about it," Shinano let out a sigh and turned back to the way he came from.

The wind blew and a voice appeared right next to his ear

"What is it that you want to ask me?" Tone had appeared.

"How long have you been listening?" Shinano was surprised by his appearance, he was on high alert but he didn't sense Tone's presence at all.

"From the top. But I'm sure that isn't what you wanna ask" Tone said while placing his hands in his pockets. Shinano felt relieved that he appeared, he turned around and faced him. Tone was taller than him for a few centimetres, so Shinano had to look up.

"Do you still hold a grudge against Lord Kohaku?"

"Yes, yes I do,"

"Do you hold that grudge because he didn't support you idea or because he had broken his promise?" Tone went silent for a while before he answered

"He didn't support my idea" Tone said "I would be lying to say if I didn't feel betrayed, but I don't blame him for doing so. Not anymore"

"Why would you want to continue this battle?"

"For the Spirit World" Shinano could see the determination in his eyes and knew that the fight would be unavoidable

"I see" Shinano said "We would have been good friends if we weren't on the opposite sides. I shall take my leave now, it was nice to have my questions answered"

"..." Shinano took a few steps before Tone spoke again "Wait, since I answered your questions, I would like you to answer mine" Shinano turned back once again to show that he was listening

"Did he… did Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi… really cried?"

"Yes, yes he did"

"..." Judging from the look in Tone's eyes, Shinano knew that Lord Kohaku wasn't the only one who didn't move on.

"Everything you said just now, was it all true?"

"I do not like to lie" And then Tone smiled a bitter smile that was so similar to his lord that Shinano could actually see their faces overlapping.

"If that's so, then I suppose you're right. We would have been good friends if we weren't on the other side" Tone said "You may take your leave"

As he turned away Shinano looked back to voiced up his final statement "Actually we…" But Tone was already gone, however this time Shinano wasn't surprised. Shinano just accepted the fact that Tone was much more skillful than he was. He did nothing more than _smile_ and left.


End file.
